Muffin Enlightenment
I may be the last person on planet Earth who is not yet switched on to muffins. Although I’ve been known to quaff the odd Double Choc Mocha chip or Banana Maple Pecan number, I’ve never thought ‘oh yeah…muffins’ in the same way I might think ‘oh yeah…cheesecake’ or indeed ‘oh yeah…fudge’. I’ve always been slightly of the opinion that one should hold off on the muffins entirely until a really good cupcake comes along. There seemed to me to be no sense in settling. I feel the same way about bagels when perfectly soft and flavorsome rye rolls exist.
But I have changed. A bit.
I’ve come across Gloria Ambrosia’s The Complete Book of Muffins; a terrific little book that modestly sets out recipe after recipe of the most extravagant and superior muffin recipes I’ve ever read. There is not a single photograph in sight, and yet this book completely grabbed my sensory imagination. I suppose that is a mark of how good the flavour choices are. I note that Gloria Ambrosia (what a great name, incidentally) is among other things a practising Buddhist, and her bent is partly focusing on the nutritional value of her recipes. Muffins and nutrition; now there’s a thought combination not often spoken of. Even in Australia muffins are more often associated with coffee, being decadent lumps of mostly sugar-plumped treats.
The book has soooooo many good recipes. The flours chosen are often wholegrain or non-gluten, the sugar content is mostly delivered in fruit puree or concentrate (more fibre, vitamin and lower GI than plain sugar), and the emphasis is on the wholesomely adventurous, exploring all these very lovely new super-foods commonly available here. So far I’ve tried the “Roasted Red Pepper, Rosemary and Herbed Cream-cheese Muffins”, the “Easy Living Southern Pecan Muffins”, the “Double Choc Chip Muffins”, which is made with whole wheat flours Jack never suspected were there and the “Thanks to the Tropical Sun Muffins”, which features fresh mango puree and chopped papaya. Lordie! I am stunned. And I’m dying to make the Chai Tea Spice Muffins and the Carribean Sweet Potato Gingerbread Muffins and the Spanakopita Muffins and the Almond Cardamom and Fig Muffins and the….sigh.
My Roasted Red Pepper, Rosemary and Herbed Cream Cheese Muffins